{"id":778,"date":"2019-09-06T18:49:24","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T18:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roselleparkdental.com\/blog\/?p=778"},"modified":"2019-09-06T18:49:25","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T18:49:25","slug":"celebrate-fight-procrastination-day-visit-your-dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roselleparkdental.com\/blog\/celebrate-fight-procrastination-day-visit-your-dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Fight Procrastination Day \u2013 Visit Your Dentist!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Written for Roselle Park Dental & Implants by Sara Magnola Taner<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, September 6th<\/sup>, is Fight Procrastination\nDay \u2013 a day to encourage people to fight the urge to delay doing important\ntasks \u2013 like visiting the dentist! In honor of this unofficial holiday, we looked\ninto why we procrastinate in the first place, why it can be bad for us, and how\nto stop for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we\nprocrastinate?<\/strong> So why do we put off certain tasks? When faced with doing\nsomething that we think might be challenging, time consuming, or uncomfortable,\nwe might try to avoid the hardship by putting it off. For instance, for some people\nvisiting the dentist can seem intimidating if they have had a bad past\nexperience. Other people who are perfectionists often procrastinate due to the\nneed to do a task perfectly \u2013 which is often impossible \u2013 so they don\u2019t do it\nat all.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is this avoidance bad\nfor us?<\/strong> Sometimes procrastinating can actually be a good thing: some people\nare deadline driven and work well under pressure. However, the longer we avoid\ndoing something we don\u2019t want to do, the more overwhelming it becomes. For\nexample, if we have a fear of visiting the dentist we might avoid going and\nmiss our annual dental checkup. Then the next year, it becomes even scarier\nsince you know you have not had your teeth checked in a while. In this way,\nprocrastinating creates even greater anxiety. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we stop putting things off? <\/strong>The scientific rule that an object in motion stays in motion, is the perfect solution for changing habitual procrastinating. The best thing to do when faced with a task you would rather wait to accomplish \u2013 is to get started right away! Breaking down a task that seems daunting into small steps makes taking the very first step quick and easy. For example, when we think about visiting the dentist, instead of wasting time and energy stressing about the future appointment \u2013 we could take action by calling and scheduling the cleaning. Once that is done, we will have a date in place to take the next step, which feels more manageable.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once we get started,\nhow do we keep going? <\/strong>Consistency is key! Keep seeing the dentist every six\nmonths to keep your momentum going and book your next appointment before you\nleave the office each time. Here are some other tips on building good habits or\ncombating bad ones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n